Among the Gundami
by BigD1987
Summary: Alternate Universe. When the daughter of a Roman nobleman is sent ot the province of Britannia, she finds herself somewhere she'd never expect to be after an encounter with a Celtic tribesman.
1. Arrival and First Encounters

Chapter 1: Arrival & First Encounters

All right, before we get started, I would like to make a few points: first off, I don't know everything about the Celts, partially because we don't know much about these people. Why? Because the bastards didn't bother to write their shit down! And the second reason because I'm still researching them. There might be some things I don't know, but I will try to make things as accurate as possible. I will also be using the names of the Gundam characters in Latin (for the Romans) but will use the original names for the Gundam pilots. In other words, it looks like this:

Milliardo Peacecraft=Mille Pacisprofessio.

Heero Yuy=…Heero Yuy. Can't really find a translator for a language THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW!!! Although I will most likely use Welsh or Breton for the Celtic languages.

Note: _Gundam Wing _and all related characters and materials are property of Bandai entertainment and Sunrise.

--

The men of the VI Century of the IX Legio Hispania (Ninth Hispanic Legion) in the Roman province of Britannia were carrying with them a precious cargo. It was a treasure. No, it was not gold. Not all treasure is money. It was not food. The cargo was the sister of their commanding officer, Centurion Mille Pacisprofessio [1], who was the friend of the Legion's commander, Tredecim [2] Kushrenada. It was the year 50 AD [3] and Britannia had been a Roman province for seven years after Vespasian invaded the island in 43 AD. The girl's name was Relena. Relena Pacisprofessio [4] Her and Mille's father was a wealthy nobleman in Rome, and he had sent her to Britannia, much to her immense chagrin.

--

_Flashback_

"Britannia?" Cried Relena at her father.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but it's the only place I can send you while your mother and I are away in Trier, I'm sorry, but it's the only way."

"But Britannia is cold, and lifeless! And you heard about those barbarians roaming the countryside, it's a mess!"

"Relena, you're going to Britannia, and that's final. Mille will take care of you."

"I can take care of myself, father."

"Yes, I know you can. And you have proven that before. But because of the enemies I made in the Senate, I'm not comfortable with you staying here in Rome, alone."

Relena sighed, knowing that she had lost the battle. She would go to Britannia to see her brother. "I understand. I will get ready as soon as possible."

"That's my girl. I'll get an escort ready for you soon enough."

--

Relena passed through the continent, from the Italian peninsula to the Alps and beyond. Along the way, she saw along the road leading out of Rome men, women and children being crucified. And believe me, it is not a nice way to die. To describe would be too much. They passed through Gaul without incident, despite rumors of natives who hated the Romans. She guessed it was the security she had as a Roman noblewoman. As she passed through the countryside, she saw the people who lived there. In a sense, she pitied them, because they would never know the glory of Rome. But at the same time, she felt that the Roman authorities could have done better for these people.

The crossing of what is now the English Channel was relatively easy. Instead of the high winds that they feared, they received calm seas for the crossing from the continent to Britannia. They felt that Neptune must have been watching out for them on this journey, and they were sure to thank him once they got to Britannia.

_End flashback_

--

The IX Legio Hispana was headquartered in Londinium, modern-day London [5]. The reunion between Relena and her brother was a little awkward, considering they hadn't seen each other in years.

"Relena, it's so good to see you." Said Mille as he greeted his sister. Relena took one look at him and could barely tell he was her brother.

"Um, hello, Mille." She replied. "How have you been these past five years?"

"Things have been well. Although we have been having trouble with the British natives who don't seem to be happy about the fact that we are bringing civilization to them. Our biggest fear is if they unite under one leader. However, because they're all fragmented into tribal groups, those Barbarians will never defeat our armies." Relena stayed silent at her brother's words. Sure, she and her brother were proud Romans, but her brother's words bothered her.

"I'm fine. In case you didn't know, father went to Gallia Belgica. I'm not sure how long he'll be there, but I'm here until father returns to Rome and recalls me… which could be a while."

"Well until then, make yourself at home here in Londinium, I found a place for you to stay while you're here." Relena smiled at her brother, and said,

"Thanks, Mille."

--

Relena felt that Londinium was Rome in the north, partially because of the large number of Romans in the city. However, the city was only a size of 350 acres around now. Mille had gotten her an apartment on the Thames (as we know it today) and the view was spectacular. She was beginning to think that maybe Britannia wasn't so bad after all, but she did hear about the terrible winter weather (compared to Italy) that Britain went through. Of course right now, she didn't know that in about 10 years, the city would be burned to the ground by Boudica and her Celtic rebellion… but that's for another time.

Anyway, Relena was out around the town on the third day after she arrived when she noticed a strange young man about her age walking around the city. He wasn't dressed like any of the Romans, but more like the Celtic natives that inhabited the countryside of the island. The young man had brown hair, fair skin, and deep Prussian blue eyes. Not deep in terms of the color, but deep in another way. The young man wasn't acting like most of the Celts in Londinium, who were mostly minding their own business, but he seemed to be surveying the area. Like he was spying. However, she ignored him for now and went on with her day.

--

"Hello, Miss Relena, did you enjoy your day?" Asked Lucrezia Novem[6], Mille's lover.

"It was enjoyable. I did see one of the natives. He didn't look very happy, though."

"The Celts are upset that we invaded their lands, apparently. They also don't have very good things to say about Mille or Tredecim, either. They've suffered defeat after defeat. Except for one tribe."

"One?"

"They're probably part of the Cantiaci or the Trinovantes people. They're fierce fighters on the battlefield, enough that many of our soldiers run from them because they're so frightening. We call them the Gundami [7]. We've had a few problems, but mostly we've had peace with them, but it's been fragile. Recently, a Century attacked a group of them. Their leader was angered and swore revenge."

"Why would a Century attack them?"

"They were probably bored. At times, there isn't much to do around here, unlike in Rome." Novem stopped and took a sip of her drink.

"Why else would they be mad, though?"

"I've recently heard among some of the soldiers that the Celts were hoping to target Mille and Tredecim for some reason. I'm not exactly sure what they have against the two, but we can't be too careful around here. There have been some raids by several tribes, but a few have made peace with Rome. One of them is the Iceni, even though they did rise against Rome three years ago, they've kept their independence from Rome. But their king Prasutagus and his queen Boudica are allies of Rome, so we don't expect any trouble from them [8]".

"I wonder if there's the possibility that the tribes might unite."

"They're just savages." Said Lucrezia. Relena looked at her with a disappointed look on her face.

"Please don't call them savages. What if they're not?"

"They don't write anything down, they're a tribal people, they love the sting of battle, they don't live like Romans. What else do you think they are?"

"I just don't want people to say that. Ignorance of someone's culture could lead to trouble." Lucrezia sighed, knowing that Relena, despite being naïve, had a good heart.

--

Two nights later, Relena was awoken by sounds coming from outside the apartment. Wondering what it was, Relena walked to her balcony. What she saw shocked her. One tenth of Londinium was on fire. The soldiers were trying to put out the fire using the waters of the Thames to put the fire out. Although it appeared the "Vigils", as I hear they are called [9] had the situation under control, Relena felt as though she had to do something. She dressed in her toga and ran out the door to the protests of the slave man inside. She made her way to the area of the fire, and that's when she saw him—again--the same Celt that she had seen some days ago. Except now he was wearing blue face paint (woad) that made him look more dangerous and he was riding a horse.

The young man stopped his horse in front of her. The two stared at each other for a second before he drew his sword.

"_Ganfuoch 'm gwynebu_?" He said in his native tongue [10]. The Celt drew his sword and pointed it at her. "_Darfod, Rhufeiniad _[11]!" Relena feared for her life, but suddenly the Celt took off. She stood there for a second before getting her own horse from the stable. She did not have to look far for him, since Roman soldiers had stalled him. However, he had somehow managed to kill them from his horse. After dispatching them, he took off, escaping into the British night. Whatever possessed her to do so, even she did not understand, but she decided to follow him.

"_Exspecto, subsisto_!" [12] She yelled in Latin. She urged her horse on and took off in hot pursuit of the Celt.

It didn't take long for daylight to break over Britannia. Relena was a good distance from Londinium by the time they reached a wooded area. Apparently, the Celt felt as though he had to stop and possibly mock her. "_Ach 'n flin, Rhufeiniad _[13]?" He asked.

"_Commodo, subsisto is iam. Permissum nos for is_ [14]!" She yelled back in Latin. The Celt simply rode off again. Relena sighed in exasperation and followed him. Unfortunately, she didn't get far, because her horse suddenly began to act wildly, making it difficult for her to keep him under control. She pulled the reins hard several times before the horse threw her off, and she landed on the ground with a 'THUD', hitting her head pretty hard. Due to the force of the hit, she blacked out, the last images being the Celt rushing over to her.

--

Well, what did you think? Was it interesting? Send me a review, please, I need to know how you feel about this and I'll get the second chapter up ASAP.

Animadverto vos laxus!

Notes and translations:

[1] Millairdo Peacecraft translated into Latin; Pacis=peace, profession=craft [where do you think they got the words professor or profession from?]

[2] Treize

[3] As we now know it

[4] Relena Peacecraft, again, in Latin

[5] Where the hell do you think they got the name "London" from?

[6] Noin

[7] I know it's not Celtic, but I gotta use something!

[8] Boy, she had no idea what the Iceni would do in 10 or 11 years!

[9] I could be wrong

[10] He's actually speaking an ancient Brythonic language, but because I'm too damn lazy to learn Breton and the fact that the language he's actually speaking is dead as a fucking doornail, I'm using Welsh. By the way, he said, "Did you see my face?"

[11] "Die, Roman!"

[12] "Wait, stop!"

[13] "Are you tired, Roman?"

[14] "Please, stop this now! Let us talk about this!"


	2. The Gundami

Chapter 2: The Gundami

Okay, did everyone enjoy the last chapter? Now the fun begins as we introduce the Gundami. Yes, I know it doesn't sound Celtic, but it's the best I could come up with, now shut up.

Note: _Gundam Wing _and all related characters and materials are the property of Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment.

--

Relena woke up sometime later. She was very disoriented, on the count of the Jupiter-damn fall of her horse. Trying to get used to her surroundings, she blinked several times to adjust her eyes to her surroundings. She felt her massive headache, and reached up to her head and felt… a bandage! Someone had found her! Finally, she got adjusted to her surroundings and noticed that she was in a round house, apparently, made out of timber. She didn't know what kind of house she was in, but it seemed just as advanced as any Roman building. Then, someone came in the door. It was a man about her age with cobalt blue eyes, and long brown hair that was braided (just guess who this is). "_Bydew, Rhufeiniad bachgennes, 'ch re ddeffro _[1]!" The man said. Relena, who did not speak a word of his language, stared at him confused. "_O arhosa, Anghofiais gwisgi t chwedleua cara ni. Afael acha, fi ll cer ca 'r ben atat _[2]_._" The man rushed out of the door before she knew what was going on.

--

Duo (I told you!) rushed out of the roundhouse to find the Chieftain. He knew the chief was around somewhere, he just didn't know exactly where. Finally, he found him. "Chief!" He called. The man in question turned to Duo. "She's awake, chief. The Roman girl is awake."

--

The home Relena was in was simple, yet it she knew that for someone, it was a home. Her bed sheets were furs, unlike the linens in the Roman houses. This was a house for people to live in, not for luxury, so it did the job. There was a hearth in the middle of the house, which provided warmth for the home. She did not know if a family of a single person lived here. Finally, a man stepped through the door to see her. Her eyes widened, for she recognized him. He was that same Celt she had seen attack Londinium!

"You're awake." He said—in Latin!

Relena, thoroughly surprised, asked, "You speak Latin?"

"Yes, I do. But to tell you how I learned it would be to long a story to tell [3]."

"Are you avoiding telling me on purpose?" She asked. He looked at her with a face that said, 'I'm not telling.' "Fine," She said. "Where am I?"

"First off, I'd like to know who you are," he responded. "And why you followed me."

"Okay, then. My name is Relena Pacisprofessio. I'm the daughter of Senator Claudius Pacisprofessio. And I followed you because I wanted to know what you were doing and why."

"You wanted to know what I was doing? Weren't you there 3 days ago?"

The revelation floored her. "Three days? I've been out for that long?"

"Yes. Now to answer your question, my name is Heero. I am the chief of these people. You're with my tribe, and that is all I'm going to tell you." He began to walk out before Relena said,

"Wait, why won't you tell me?"

Heero stopped, sighed and said, "Because I refuse to say much to a Roman like you." Relena had no chance to reply when he left the house.

--

Duo stood outside the hut as Heero left. "Did you tell her everything?"

"Why would I? She's a Roman, I'm not sure if she can be trusted."

"Then why did you bring her here?" He asked the chief. All he got in response was a dirty look from his chieftain. Heero walked away, not intending to continue this conversation any further. Duo just shook his head and followed the chieftain.

--

The whole village was abuzz over the Roman girl. "A Roman woman, here in our village!" Some said. "I wonder what she's like." Others said. The gossip spread like wildfire, enough that there were people trying to look into the hut where Relena was staying, which would understandably embarrass anyone, Roman, German or Celtic. Some of the men were interested in her, since they felt she was pretty good looking. It was enough to make some of the women jealous of her, though she really wasn't planning on staying long. But the physician, who was actually, much to her surprise, as skilled as any Roman doctor [4] told her that she would have to stay longer—as translated by Heero, since the doctor did not speak Latin.

After two days, Relena could finally leave the hut. Her first impressions of the Gundami village surprised her. After years of being told that these people were savage beasts, she was surprised to find that they were not as barbaric as the other Romans thought. Sure, she did not think it was right to judge a people just because they were different. But at the same time, she almost believed the stories of these people. They were mostly simple farmers, and I say "simple" as a description, not as an insult. But what she found was that the farmers were better than any Roman farmer she had seen [5] and their technology was just as advanced.

The people were also nice to her, which she felt was because she was a stranger, or a "deorad", as she later learned. She observed the tribe as best she could, but due to a massive language barrier it was very difficult. Some of the tribe's people were interested in her, which she deduced was because she was something different, new. It was possible that some of them had never seen a Roman woman before, and were interested in her only because of her strange dress and language. Some, however, were not so thrilled about her presence, which she felt they might be mad at the Romans. But she did appreciate being treated better as a woman here than in Rome, where she was at times treated like dirt [6]. She also noticed that some women in the village were sharpening swords as though they were soldiers [7] or just helping the warriors.

After a week, Relena soon began to figure out who was who by listening to the conversations as best she could, despite the fact that she could not understand the language. The man with the cobalt blue eyes and long, braided hair seemed to be named "Duo", and because he spent some time with Heero, she felt the two must have been good friends. A girl, who seemed to be German, was referred to as "Hilde", which was implied to be her original name. One warrior, who had hair that covered part of his face, was known as "Trowa." His female companion was named "Catherine" [8]. Duo seemed to spend time with Hilde as well.

"She's German". Someone said to her, referring to Hilde. "They found her in the aftermath of an attack on a Roman column. She's since become an honorary member, since she's here of her own free will [9]." A Druid who spoke Latin was in the village one day explained things to her, since Heero wouldn't even tell her the time of day. She appreciated the Druid's help very much and especially since he was helping her get to know the people of the tribe better. The Druid introduced himself as Dr J and nothing else.

"Why doesn't the chieftain like Romans?" She asked.

"I'm not sure why, either. I haven't asked the young man about that, but some of our people are not happy about the Roman occupation." Said Dr. J.

"Why aren't they? We are giving them civilization, after all."

"They feel that they shouldn't be ruled by some men from a faraway land. It's an observation I've made after reading Roman texts. No matter what, people will resist whatever force invades them."

"I guess I can understand that they want to be left alone," she said.

"Some are also mad that the Romans have attacked them for no apparent reason and have sworn revenge."

"Why?"

"They feel wronged for what has happened." He replied. "We never did anything to the Romans, yet their soldiers run amok, killing, looting and raping indiscriminately."

"But revenge is not the answer! It only continues the cycle of death and violence."

"You are right, but there are people who will not care what you say. Are you prepared to face resistance if you ever advocate that?"

Relena lowered her head and said, "I'm not sure if my ideals will even be accepted in Rome. Women there don't have as many rights as men, so I doubt they'll even allow me to speak about it."

"I'm very sorry about that. But you said your name was Pacisprofessio. By any chance, you wouldn't be related to Claudis Pacisprofessio, would you?"

"He's my father. He's very influential in Rome, not only to the Senate, but to the Emperor as well."

"Yes, I know. He's actually respected by some of the others [10]. We hope he'll be an important influence in the Empire."

"I hope so, too," she said with a small smile on her face.

--

As the week went by, Relena familiarized herself as best she can with the tribe. She tried to socialize with the women, but the language barrier made things difficult, but not exactly impossible. She did manage to catch on to a few things, like how the Celts made their bread. A few of the farmers also showed her their crops and techniques. The tribe grew a variety of crops, which were, as they always are, vital to the people of the tribe. The tribe also grew grape vines, which came as a small surprise. The tribe also kept livestock, such as sheep, cattle and pigs. Dr J explained that the boar was a sacred animal in Celtic religion. The sheep produced wool that as Relena knew, was highly prized by people in Rome, and had been for some time, since the days of Julius Caesar. She also saw that bulls were prized not only by the tribe, but also by other Celts, too. The tribe really had to beat back some cattle raids recently, much to the tribe's disdain [11].

While she had been accepted largely by part of the tribe, there were some exceptions; most notably, the chieftain Heero, who avoided her like the plague. Relena did not know why the chieftain hated her so much, but Dr J implied that he hated her because she was Roman, which made Relena even more confused, since she didn't know what kind of problem he had with Romans. Their 'conflict' came to a head during her second week with the tribe. She had yet to leave, which seemed to annoy Heero a lot. Relena was in the hut she was staying in, minding her own business when Heero came in. "Well, look who's here," she said. "I thought you didn't like me." Heero stayed silent, true to his character.

"I thought you would have left by now," He responded.

"Well I haven't. I'm not sure whether the Romans forgot about me or you're just that hard to find." She responded. She was actually serious, but Heero took it the wrong way as though she was being sarcastic and took it as an insult.

"Are you saying you want to stay here?" He asked.

"Now, I'm not. Your people are nice, but…"

"But what? Are you insulting us?"

"Don't twist my words around, Celt!" She responded. "I wasn't insulting you or your people, I was just saying that…"

"That what? We're primitive?"

"Well compared to Rome, yes!"

"Rome? I hate Rome." He said in a monotone voice that masked his burning anger and hatred.

"Why? Why do you hate Rome?" Heero was furious at this woman. He took a few breaths before calming down. He turned around, and said,

"I have nothing else to say." He said, and proceeded to leave. Relena, however, had other ideas and grabbed his arm.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me why you hate Romans!" She yelled.

"Let go of me!" He said. He struck her, trying to get her off, which made her even more furious. As he tried to leave, she drew a dagger that Mille had given to her. She raised the dagger at him in preparation to attack him. He brought the dagger down upon him, but he moved with fast reflexes and caught her arm before the blade could pierce his skin.

"Did you actually think you could kill me and get away with it?" He asked. Relena just stared at him with a fire in her eyes that burned brightly. "If you did kill me, my people would have found out easily and you would not have lived long." He said. "You say you're a Pacisprofessio, and yet here you are trying to kill someone. Nice way to practice what you preach." He let go of Relena's arm as he finished saying that. This time, he left without much protest from Relena, who simply stood there fuming in anger at the chieftain.

--

Notes and translations:

[1] "Well Roman girl, you're awake!"

[2] "Oh wait, I forgot you don't talk like us. Hold on, I'll go get the chief for you."

[3] Actually, he learned it from a Roman ambassador.

[4] There is actually evidence that Celtic doctors were as skilled as Roman or Greek doctors.

[5] This is true, it seems.

[6] It's generally stated that women in Celtic society had higher standings that their counterparts in Rome or Greece. It was enough that the Romans and Greeks took advantage of this to illustrate just how barbaric they were.

[7] I'm keeping their job ambiguous because although a lot has been written about women warriors in Celtic society, there is very little archeological evidence to prove this.

[8] Hilde is Hilde Schbeiker, Trowa is Trowa Barton and Catherine is Catherine Bloom.

[9] Celtic law did not extend rights to prisoners, hostages or criminals.

[10] He's referring to the remaining Druids, who were the intellectuals of Celtic society. That's how he knows Latin. In fact, that Latin thing might be controversial. I _think_, but I'm not completely positive that some Druids may have studied in Rome. If they did not, however, I'll just go ahead and say that this one did.

[11] If you want to know just how significant cattle is in Celtic society, read _The Cattle Raid of Cooley_ from the Ulster Cycle of Irish myth.


	3. Legal Issues

Okay, how's everybody doing? Well, I got some complaints that I didn't flesh out the characters well enough in the first chapter; so, I guess we shall dedicate this chapter primarily to characterization.

Note: _Gundam Wing _and all related characters and material are the property of Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment.

--

Londinium

"Make way for Centurion Mille Pacisprofessio!" The crowd in the main market of Londinium stopped their activities and quickly moved to sides of the street as Centurion Pacisprofessio made his way through the streets on his trusted horse, Tallgeese. The residents of Londinium noticed that there was something about the Centruion that they could not explain well, but they felt that the blonde-haired son of Claudius Pacisprofsssio would get through it. What they didn't know was that the situation was not as easy for him to get over that easily, particularly since it was his own family that was the problem. Mille made his way to his lover Lucrezia Novem's house where she was waiting for him.

"Mille, you're back!" She cried as he entered the home.

"Novem, where's Relena!"

"I don't know," she responded. "She disappeared the night of the fire, two weeks ago. We've been searching for her, but none of the soldiers have found her, nor have any of the British tribes! It's as though she disappeared to the Underworld." Mille growled in anger and kicked his helmet (he had taken it off and dropped it on the floor). Lucrezia tried to calm him down by grabbing Mille's arm and saying, "Stop worrying so much. I'm sure we'll find her; she can't be that far away. There were some witnesses who saw someone who looked like her chasing a native out of the city." Mille's attention was now fully on Novem, with the revelation that someone had possibly seen her."

"Where did they say she was going?" Novem lowered her head and said,

"They couldn't tell. They couldn't even get a good look at her. And Tredecim's not sure if they're telling the truth or not." Mille's heart sank after being filled with hope that his sister had been found. "Tredecim wants you to report to him as soon as possible. He wants to know if you've made any progress with the natives and whether you need any assistance from the other Legions." He stayed silent, clearly still worried about Relena. "Zechs," she said, using the nickname his friends gave him. "I'm sure Relena's fine. She's a strong woman, enough to make any brother proud, Roman or Celtic. If she hasn't found a Century, she's probably with a British tribe." Mille looked at her suspiciously.

"You'd like it if she was living with savages?" He asked.

"It's better than her being dead." She replied.

--

General Tredecim Kushrenada took a sip of his wine as he waited for Mille. Tredecim was relatively young for a general in the Roman army, but thanks to successful campaigns in Germania and Britannia, he had been promoted by the military to the rank of general relatively fast, which angered some of the more veteran officers in the army, who had been with the army longer than Tredeicm, which led to some of the officers accusing Emperor Claudius and the higher-ups in the military of corruption. But Tredecim's reputation as a solid commander and his successful suppression of the Iceni revolt three years earlier silenced his critics.

"General Kushrenada," a servant said to him. "Mille Pacisprofessio is here to report on his recent campaign, sir."

"Send him in, Julius." The general replied. One minute later, Mille entered the room. Tredecim greeted him, saying, "It's good to see you again, Zechs."

"It's good to see you as well, Treize." He replied.

"Now tell me, how have things been with you these past two weeks?"

"We managed to put down a small rebellion by the Belgae. Their leaders had grievances with some soldiers from another century. I had to promise them that the soldiers in question would be disciplined."

"Are they in the IX Legion?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'll be on it as soon as I can. I'll find them, and make sure they're disciplined. What did they do?"

"They were accused of theft by the people of the tribe." Tredecim nodded in understanding.

"Anything else for you to report on?"

"No, sir." Mille turned to leave before Tredecim stopped him.

"I have my best men searching for your sister," he said. "We hope to find her soon. If not, we may have to call off the search. I know you're worried Zechs, but Lucrezia's right. Relena can take care of herself if she's still alive." Mille stayed silent for a few moments before leaving his commanding officer's headquarters.

"It's not the fact that she's strong I'm worried about," he said. "I'm more worried about the poor soul who harms her in any way."

--

The Gundami

Relena got as comfortable as possible with the Gundami. Although the language barrier was great, it was starting to lower a bit. She did learn a few words, like "_tarw_", which meant "bull". Of course, the big story was the fact that she tried to kill the chieftain, which she, and strangely enough, Heero, tried to deny. Why Heero was not telling them what happened was strange to Relena. What did he have to hide? Why was he lying to his own people? Not even conversations with the Druid named Dr J could provide any answers. She was also wondering why Heero held such anger toward the Romans.

--

"Are you sure she didn't try to kill you?" Duo asked Chief Heero. The chief stayed silent, much to the annoyance of his best friend. "Ah dammit, you're just so confusing sometimes!" Heero walked away, annoyed with the warrior's words, apparently. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Duo sighed in defeat, saying, "Oh, why do I even bother?" Then he saw the Roman girl approaching. She watched Heero walk right past her, much to her confusion. "Hey, how ya doing? Your friend here isn't helping much…"

"_Ego sum rumex, quis es vos sententia_? _Ego operor non agnosco vos_. [1]" Said the Roman girl. Duo stopped for a moment and then he remembered that she didn't speak his language. "Oh, I forgot. Again. Sorry about that!"

"Duo!"

"Oh, hey Hilde," he said to the German girl.

"Quit bothering the Roman girl, she can't understand a word you're saying!"

"I forgot about, Hilde, don't blame me! I forgot."

"Well you know she's and outsider, she can be killed and no one will be punished! [2]"

"Jeez, well you're one too! I can kill you right now and get away with it."

"You wouldn't dare!" She said. The Roman girl watched in interest, curious at what Duo and Hilde were discussing.

"But do we have a treaty with the Romans? [3]"

"No. But I'm an honorary member of the tuath remember [4]? But if the tribal Druid approves it, she might become…"

"Did someone mention my name?" Duo, who was immersed in his conversation with Hilde, did not notice Dr J come up behind him. When Dr J spoke, it scared the crap out of him.

"Jeez, don't scare me like that!" Said Duo.

"We didn't mention your name Dr J," said Hilde. "But we were wondering if it was possible to make the Roman girl an honorary member of the _tuath_ if it was approved."

Dr J stood silent for a few moments. "Hello, are you going to say anything?" Duo said impatiently.

"I'll see what I can do."

--

Relena watched Duo, Hilde and Dr J intently. However, she, considering she still did not know the language of these people, did not know what they were talking about. Obviously the language barrier would have to fall.

--

"No, no, no, NO! I will not accept her as an honorary member!" Heero yelled in a _very_ rare case of breaking character. Dr J sighed in exasperation.

"The members of the _tuath_ are worried about her."

"Not everyone. Which members are you talking about?"

"That girl can be killed or harmed if she's not careful. Her _deorad_ status puts her in danger with every step she takes. And add to the fact that she's Roman—a wealthy Roman, I might add—and it could be a recipe for disaster. Her killer might not get punished by the _tuath_, but he may have to deal with her brother, Centurion Pacisprofessio."

"How do you know what will happen? Are you psychic, old man?"

"Why no, I'm just warning you in case something does happen to her. It's rumored that if anyone does harm her, he'll do some nasty things to whoever did it, so I would suggest at least giving her some protection, whether it be a bodyguard or legal status." The Druid finished his argument, leaving Heero to think about Relena's fate. The fact that a Celtic tribesman was now responsible for the fate of a Roman noblewoman was terribly ironic now.

--

Relena was helping an old woman with her work when the German girl Hilde came running up to her unexpectedly, and shouting in the tribe's language. Relena of course, did not understand a word the German girl was saying, and was even more surprised when the girl hugged her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can't understand you at all." Hilde, after hearing Relena's words, but not understanding them, remembered that they did not speak the same language. However, Hilde had an idea to tell Relena the news—but it was interrupted when Dr J appeared.

"She's excited because the chief is considering giving you legal standing within the tribe or bodyguards." The news excited relena, but then she was brought back down to earth by the statement.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Well, you're an outsider, so you're really not a member of the tribe. The chief is considering whether to make you an honorary member or just give you bodyguards."

"Why is the chief making this decision? Why aren't you?"

"Because he's the chief; his decision is what matters, not mine." He said. Relena nodded in understanding and then said,

"Why is it important that I be an honorary member?"

"Because it will give you rights within the _tuath_—and most likely prevent you from getting killed." He said. Relena was in shock at the revelation.

"What do you mean?"

"As an outsider, you have no rights. Someone can kill, harm or maim you and they will not be punished. If you are named a member, or honorary member, that will change. Of course, if you are simply given bodyguards, which will also work."

"Why honorary though?"

"Because you were not born a member of this _tuath_, and you have no kin within it [4]. Until Heero makes his decision however, I suggest you keep your guard up and keep that dagger close to you."

--

For the next several days, Relena did as Dr J told her to do, watching out for anyone who might try to attack her. She didn't really have to worry much about it in Rome, since a bodyguard in Rome usually accompanied her, but here, where she had no rights as an outsider scared her enough that she almost tried to kill the German girl Hilde when she surprised her. Of course, Relena's—or I should say, the Roman girl, since not everyone knew her name—behavior worried some members of the Gundami tribe enough that they constantly bothered Heero about it night and day. "Give the Roman girl rights!" They said. Heeros really wanted to kill her right here and now, but despite the laws involving outsiders, the _tuath_ who like Relena would not forgive him, while those who were wary of her would not care at all. It was enough to drive a young chief crazy, so much that he was thinking about kicking Relena out of the village but Trowa, who rarely spoke, talked him out of it.

"You know if that Roman girl is kicked out, she might not survive long enough to get back to Londinium. The Romans may be looking for her, but if any of the other tribes find her, they might use her status to their advantage. It's possible they might kidnap her and hold her for a high ransom from the Romans. And there's also the wildlife around here…"

"Alright, then I heard you! I won't banish her. I guess that I'll have to bow to pressure and give her honorary status until the damn Romans find her."

"That is a good decision, sir. Now what about the feast we were planning for?"

"I nearly forgot about that," he said in his distinctive monotone. "Send out our best warriors to find some game."

"As you wish, sir."

--

[1] "I am sorry, what are you saying? I do not understand you?"

[2] Outsiders, or deorads, had very little, almost no legal standing in the tuath, or tribe.

[3] That is, unless there was a treaty between two tribes. Then they had legal standing.

[4] My sources seem to imply that foreigners had no rights at all universally. However, it seems that at some point, the Celts did give rights to outsiders. There's no evidence of this, however, but it is possible that some tribes' laws differed from another. It's possible that some tribes granted legal protection to foreigners at some point. Of course, even though I am trying to be accurate, I do have _some _freedom, since the Gundami did not exist in real life and I will say that this particular _tuath_ allowed outsiders to become honorary members—they would have the same rights and protection as a member of the _tuath_, but they are not actual members.


	4. The Feast

Note: _Gundam Wing _and all related characters and materials are the property of Sunrise and Bandai Entertainment.

--

The next day, Relena noticed that the village was buzzing with activity. The warriors had brought back a large boar and a deer the previous day, which made Relena curious as to what was being planned. After asking Heero and getting no response, she asked Dr J, the only person who would give any answers. "They are preparing for a feast tonight." He said to her.

"A feast?"

"They have invited members of an ally tribe so that they may discuss political and social matters. This is a major part of our culture. There will be lots of food there."

"That's good; I haven't had a lot of good food lately. No offense, it's just that I'm used to Roman food." She said.

"That's good; I don't want you going hungry, ha ha! But be careful; the feasts can get pretty ugly."

--

The feast began close to sundown. Earlier, the Gundami welcomed the representatives of the Catuvellauni tribe, who were neighbors of the Iceni [1]. The feast included a large boar, venison, beef, game and fish, all of which looked so good that Relena could not wait to try it. Of course, being the proper Roman woman she was, she had to wait to have the food. The feast also included honey, butter, milk, wine, cheese, mead and beer. It was a feast that even proud Romans could enjoy. Relena was introduced to the Catuvellauni as the Gundami's guest and she was to be treated with respect—lest the wrath of the Roman army come down upon them. A bard from a land called "Erin [2]" who called himself Professor G came with the Catuvellauni. He seemed to have some history with Duo, since the warrior wasn't too happy he was there. The bard was eccentric, just like Dr J, but Professor G seemed to be a little more serious.

"Now then, let's see who's here," said Professor G as he prepared to get the feast underway. "I would like to introduce our guests from the west the representatives of the Catuvellauni tribe, as well as a very special guest, Relena Pacisprofessio, daughter of distinguished Roman senator Claudius Pacisprofessio."

"Hurry up, you old fool, I'm hungry!" Shouted Duo. Hilde tried to calm him down saying,

"Duo, be polite."

"Watch your manners, warrior," replied Professor G. "Not everyone else is as impatient as you, so calm down. I'll have you know I'm in a higher caste than you are, so you shouldn't disrespect me [3]."

"Whatever!"

"Alright then, shall we get started?" Asked Dr J.

"Yes, we shall. Let us begin." The feast began as the guests dug in to the food—much to the shock of Relena, who, due to her proper upbringing, saw these people as ravenous beasts that had no table manners. At first she was worried that she wouldn't get any, but that changed when the German girl Hilde handed her some food. Venison, it appeared to be. Then she said a few words in the language of the tribe, which Relena couldn't understand.

"She said 'here, have it'." Said Dr J, who had just sat down next to her. Relena accepted the food graciously especially since she was very hungry anyway. The dish had some bread, venison and a few grains. She was given a dish of milk to drink, which she also appreciated. She took a bite of the venison and—oh, it was so good! Manners pretty much went out the window and gave way to her hunger. Then Hilde asked another question of Relena. "She asked if you like the food." Said Dr J.

"Yes, I do." She replied after taking another bite of venison. Dr J relayed the statement to Hilde who was very appreciative or Relena's compliments.

"She helped cook the food," he said to her.

"She's very good. When I return to Londinium, I'll make sure I'll have her come and cook." Dr J spoke again to Hilde, who laughed. Then Hilde asked another question.

"She's asking if you miss your father." Dr J relayed to her. The happiness of the moment ended and was replaced by stoicism. But that was ruined when the warrior Duo yelled at Professor G. Relena did understand when Hilde yelled Duo's name out, but she could not understand the rest of the conversation. Dr J joined in as well, which infuriated Duo. When he was done harassing the warrior, Dr J turned to Relena.

"Yes, I do miss him," she said with a small tinge of sadness. Hilde asked another question, which Dr J translated as,

"Do you have a brother?"

"Yes, I do. Centurion Mille Pacisprofessio," she replied. Dr J seemed to hesitate before relaying the translation to Hilde. Hilde's expression changed when she heard the name 'Mille Pacisprofessio'. However, she spoke again.

"She wants to know if your brother's a good person."

Relena sighed and decided to fess up. "To tell the truth, I don't know my brother that well. We don't see each other often because he's usually away on military campaigns for the Empire. The longest I get to see him is one or days usually, the longest he's been away is five years. In fact, I barely got to know him when I was young, too. I would like it if we could have a decent relationship, but because of his military career, it might not happen. Plus, he's so focused on his duty that he forgets I really hate war."

--

Hilde listened hard to Dr J's translation of Relena's story. She felt bad for Relena that she never got to spend much time Mille. "Oh, I'm sorry, it must have been hard for you," she said. Dr J translated Hilde's words and then Relena replied in Latin.

"Actually, she didn't have it too bad. After all, she is the daughter of a noblewoman."

"Dr J!" The conversation was interrupted by Professor G. "You need to teach this warrior a lesson, he won't shut up!" He said, referring to Duo.

"Why, I can't help you, you're the story teller here!" Dr J replied. "What's he doing wrong?"

"This insolent little fool thinks he knows the _Cattle Raid of Cooley_ better than I do, and I'm from Erin!"

"Are you kidding me? You can't even get Cuchulainn's name right!"

"Calm down!" Said Heero forcefully, rubbing his temple in exasperation. "Duo just let him tell the story."

"No, he's not getting it right."

"Duo!" Finally, Hilde tried to get Duo to stop so Professor G could tell the story. The story continued on, and the Roman girl (Relena) tried to listen as carefully as she could, although she still could not understand Professor G.

"Hey Trowa, are you having fun?" Catherine said to the young archer. Trowa, however, stayed silent, much to the girl's chagrin. "When will you learn to be considerate?" The young warrior continued to eat, not paying attention to the dancer one bit. "Hilde?" She asked. "How do you deal with Duo?"

"It's a long story," she replied. Speaking of Duo, it was time he reached for the hero's portion of the boar—only to be intercepted by a warrior from the Catuvellauni tribe. Now here's where things get ugly. Duo got angry with the other warrior, saying,

"Hey buddy, get your hands of my portion. It's called the hero's portion for a reason, not the washed-up farmer's portion, buddy!"

"Excuse me, but who made you the greatest hero here? I've killed more men than you have!"

"Oh really?" Duo and his rival were now standing up, directly confronting each other.

"Yes, really, I think you're a piece of cow dung!" Bad idea. Duo was now furious and drew his sword. In one second, the braided warrior thrust it into the man's chest. The other warrior had no chance. Duo removed the sword from his chest and watched him fall to the ground. The rest of the feasting party continued eating, except for the Roman girl, who was now looking at him with utmost horror in her eyes. Duo realized what happened.

The Roman girl stood up and said, "_Barbarus _[4]! _Inhumanus _[5]!" Before running away from the feast, leaving the rest of them stunned. No one knows what possessed him to do it, but the chieftain Heero, stood up and followed the Roman girl away from the feast.

--

_Mille was right! They are savage!_ Thought Relena. Although she had come prepared to expect the worst, she did not expect to see someone getting stabbed during dinner! She hid in the only place available to recover from her traumatic experience. She was now seriously considering leaving the tribe. Despite how nice the people here had been, the act of Duo stabbing a member of the Catuvellauni was too much. Just then—

"Are you okay?" Relena turned around, and saw who it was.

"What do you want, Heero?" She said with an almost acidic tone of voice.

"If you're planning on leaving, I would advise against doing so."

"Why?"

"It's too dark out there for you too see very far and if the night doesn't claim you, the beasts or other _tuaths _might." Although she hated to admit it, Relena knew that he was right. There was no way for her to return to Londinium right now. Overwhelmed by the events of the night and the realization she might not return to Londinium, Relena struggled to hold back her tears. In a strange move, Heero tried to comfort her, placing his hand on the Roman's shoulder. In a reactionary manner, Relena turned around and threw her arms around the chieftain, who wrapped his arms around her as well. For several minutes, the only sound in the roundhouse was the sound of Relena crying into Heero's shoulder.

--

[1] They also allied with the Iceni during their revolt on 60/61.

[2] Erin is the name for Ireland in Irish myth, but Relena doesn't know that Ireland exists right now.

[3] Celtic society was divided in a caste system with noblemen at the top.

[4] "Barbarian!"

[5] "Savage!"


End file.
